Boris Berezovsky, the Russian oligarch, is set to face a divorce battle that
could cost him up to £100 million, according to reports.

Galina Berezovsky has been married to Mr Berezovsky for 18 years, although she has been separated from him for almost as long. She has reportedly instructed a London law firm to enforce her case.

Previous clients of Sandra Davis, the divorce lawyer at Mishcon de Reya, include Diana, Princess of Wales, Jerry Hall and Thierry Henry, the Barcelona and former Arsenal footballer.

Mrs Berezovsky has been estranged from her husband since the mid-1990s, although they never divorced. She lives in London with the couple's two teenage children. The couple met in 1981 when he was a poor mathematician earning £60 a month.

Mr Berezovsky became one of the original Russian oligarchs under President Boris Yeltsin, lending money to the state in return for valuable stakes in AutoVAZ, the state airline Aeroflot and several oil companies, which he helped organised into Sibneft. Former associates include Roman Abramovich, the owner of Chelsea football club. At one point he was thought to be worth £1 billion. According to The Independent, his estranged wife could be entitled to up to £100 million of his fortune.

He went on to buy media companies, while entering parliament and becoming secretary general of the Commonwealth of Independent States. He supported Vladimir Putin's presidency campaign in 2000, although moved to Surrey when the pair fell out. He was granted political asylum in 2003 when Russia tried to have him extradited in fraud charges. He has since accused Mr Putin of being behind a plot to assassinate him.